Land Slide

the callousness and ineptitude with which India deals with its limited resources is not just astonishing but appalling.

Land, being a limited resource is one of the most important economic key resources for any country. It is surprising that India is still devoid of modern land laws and much awaited land reform bill namely Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill (LARR) has been languishing from one committee to another for more than three years. Once again the discussion on the same remained inconclusive in all party meet which is to be held again on 20^th March 13.

Land laws in India are highly complicated and archaic. It still follows century old Land Acquisition Act of 1894 (amended in 1962 and 1984) which empowers the investment hungry Govt. to forcibly acquire any area of land it deems fit in the name of ‘emergency’ and ‘public purpose’ and in the process uprooting many people from their place and depriving them of their only livelihood, that too without much compensation and in some cases no compensation at all. Thus denuding them of their primary civil right i.e. right to live and earn livelihood.

Fine difference there is between lands grab and land development. There are quite a few examples of powerful personage grabbing thousands of acres of land illegally under the nose of Govt. yet it prefers to turn a blind eye. Successive Governments in India has an abysmal track record of implementing land reforms. Land ceiling laws and laws against land grab have been openly violated. Earlier in the tenure of BJP, various massive benami land transactions were effected by Ramalinga Raju of Satyama and recently Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi violated land rules and acquired lands in Rajashthan and Haryana and resold it at a premium. Yamuna Express Way project of JP Infratech approved by Mayawati also shows the disregard of Govt. towards the interests of land holders. Governments, mouthing virtuous slogans of ‘development,’ have actually justified massive land grab to feed corporate greed. It seems that it is playing the role of property dealer for industrialists and it is only poor land owners and farmers who lose in this game.

Another lacuna leading to faulty land laws is that Acquisition and requisition of property falls in the concurrent list, which means that both the centre and the state government can make laws on the matter. There are a number of local and specific laws which provide for acquisition of land under them though the main law that deals with acquisition remains Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Upcoming land reforms must take into account that uniform land laws across the states are of immense importance otherwise competitive policies of various states to attract investment will bear negative consequences for inclusive growth of Indian states.

The new bill does propose for various measures significant for land owners, livelihood earners and also for land purchaser. Much debated issues such as definition of ‘public purpose’, compensation to both the land and livelihood losers, loss of housing, tribal displacement plan, compensation more than on market prices etc are being well addressed in LARR. However whether or not these provisions will be implemented in spirit is the real question to ponder over. As of now the future of the bill itself appears uncertain which did receive momentum in Jun 2011 when Rahul Gnadhi visited Bhatta Parsol but only to be hanging again in parliament due to never ending battle between central and state Govt. It is notable that the original LARR was designed by National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi. Despite being an issue flagged by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, it is hanging in balance since long. One must doubt if they are actually concerned with implementing the bill.

Land is a burning issue in all over the India. It is the most sensitive resource to tackle politically and economically. Being the 7^th largest country in the world having 8.76 cr acre of land, there is certainly no dearth of land in India yet the country seems land scarce just because of defective land policies giving leeway to corruption. Even Supreme Court has observed the need to scrap ‘fraud’ Land Acquisition Act of 1894 devised by some ‘sick people’. Countries worldwide try their best to make the most of their natural resources preserving it at the same time with all their might by keeping robust and rigorous natural resources laws. However, the callousness with which India deals with its limited resources is not just astonishing but appalling. 2G spectrum scam, coal scam, Maharashtra water scam etc bear the testimony of how better Indian Govt.is poised with addressing laws concerning its scarce possessions. It is high time that it realizes the havoc what bad management of limited resources can bring. After all you can import anything but natural resources!!